The Image staff muses on the culture of keeping up appearances

The cardigan that Jeff Bridges' character wore to memorable effect in the 1998 Coen brothers film "The Big Lebowski," (which we told you was about to be auctioned off) never made it to the auction block.

When I called the auction house, Calabasas-based Profiles in History to find out the final auction price (the opening bid had been estimated at between $4,000 and $6,000), I was told the item had been pulled from the auction.

The publicity firm representing the auction house sent along the following statement:

"A day before the auction, questions arose about the screen usage of the 'Big Lebowski' sweater. Originally there were several copies made of the Lebowski sweater for the production of the film, it could not be determined if this one was screen used. In keeping with the policies of Profiles in History, it was withdrawn from the auction pending further research."

Even sans sweater, the two-day auction reportedly grossed more than $5.8 million according to a press release issued by the company, which includes the $18,400 winning bid for a pair of pink, satin Ferragamo high heels worn by Marilyn Monroe in "Let’s Make Love"; $63,250 paid for a tweed jacket worn by James Dean’s Jim Stark character in "Rebel Without a Cause"; and $241,500 shelled out for a "Walt Disney letter to creator of Mickey Mouse, Ub Iwerks, to start Disney Studios."

-- Adam Tschorn

Photo: John Goodman, left, and Jeff Bridges in a scene from the Coen brothers' 1998 cult classic, "The Big Lebowski." The cardigan sweater Bridges wore was supposed to be up for auction this past Saturday, but the item was pulled because it could not be verified that it was the same sweater that appeared on screen. Credit: Gramercy Pictures.